They even know about Alex Smith, who started for the 49ers until he was sidelined with a concussion in November and Kaepernick stepped in.

And Taylor? His resume can be summed up on the top half of an index card: Two years, no starts and 30 passes — 25 of them in the Ravens' meaningless regular-season finale against Cincinnati last month.

That's because Flacco has started every game during the past five seasons and never has missed a down because of injury or ineffectiveness.

Still, Taylor knows he's only one play away from getting into the Super Bowl, and for that reason he's practicing hard this week as Sunday's championship game draws near.